Paternity Attorney in Los Angeles

A paternity lawsuit is a petition to determine a parental relationship. It is most often filed to determine the father of a child but that is not its exclusive use. It is commonly filed to establish financial responsibility for a child or to secure both the rights and responsibilities of a parent.

The most common cases simply rely on admissions or DNA evidence to show a biological link between a child and the father. It is not however only a biological father that can be determined to be father with respect to parental rights and responsibilities. The law recognizes a class of “presumed” fathers who through their own conduct have assumed a parental role often times to the exclusion of the child developing any bond of relationship with a biological father. A presumed father can press for rights and be pressed for responsibilities just as if he were a biological father.

A paternity case can not only be used to establish the parent child relationship but can confer on the court the ability to assist in crafting a parenting plan for the child.